Data security is an ongoing problem that requires constant attention to address as technology and efforts to thwart current safeguards continue to change. One aspect of data security is the need to destroy certain components, such as hard disk drives, so data on these drives remains undiscoverable by others. This need may arise because a hard disk drive has failed, because it has served its useful life or purpose or because of some other reason.
In some areas, current best practices and/or rules require that hard disk drives, which are more accurately understood to be “hard disk drive assemblies,” are degaussed to neutralize the data contained on the hard disk drive components of these assemblies. In practice, degaussing equipment is sized to receive only the hard disk drive component, which has fairly standard dimensions. But the hard disk component, both as installed for use and when it is removed from service and targeted for destruction, is typically encased in a protective structure. The protective structure often includes features adapting it for easy installation and removal from a computing device, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a server, to name just a few examples. The interior of the protective structure usually must be accessed to remove the hard disk drive component. One protective structure in common use is referred to as a “sled,” so the process of removing the sled from the rest of the hard drive assembly is called “desledding,” but similar considerations apply to removal of any protective structure, whether it is known as a housing, cage, carriage, enclosure or other term.
Sometimes it is possible remove the hard disk drive component from the rest of the assembly, i.e., the protective structure, by disassembling the assembly, i.e., by loosening one or more fasteners, bending tabs, prying mating pieces apart, etc. These are manual operations, however, and thus they can be time consuming, costly and difficult to carry out safely, especially for a large scale decommissioning operation.